Thousands of students of West Bengal are in a catch-22 like situation as this year the exam dates of National Defence Academy (NDA) conducted by Union Public Service Commission and West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination (WBJEE) conducted by WBJEE board falls on the same date of Sunday, April 23, 2017.
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To the dismay of thousands of students, WBJEE authoritie are reluctant to shift the date of the examination. An official of Higher Education Department of West Bengal said that they have come to know about NDA examination recently. It was only when a student sent them a request mail to postpone WBJEE 2017. There was no mention of the name of the student in the mail. The preparation to conduct the exam is in full swing. Around 8,000 applications have been received so far. Now it is extremely difficult to defer the examination date.
However, they are awaiting a confirmation on the NEET date. If the exam is held on the same date, then WBJEE Board will be forced to postpone their exam date. He also assured that from next year they will ensure that no important national exam date clashes with WBJEE.
Amit Bose, a student from Nadia district said that he has been preparing for the both examinations and also at the same time praying to God that the date of NEET clashes with WBJEE. If that does not happen then he will not take the engineering test. He is more interested in a career in the defence sector.
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Parents argue that NDA examination has an age bar that allows the students to appear in the test within a stipulated time. Whereas the age limit for taking other exams is much higher. Besides that, the number of boys opting for high-ranking defence sector posts is much less. Therefore, those who are interested in taking the exam for the defence sector should be encouraged and date of WBJEE exam should be deferred.